Student Life

Student Outreach & Support: WADE (Wellness, Alcohol & Drug Education)

For Parents: Talking About Alcohol

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR STUDENT
ABOUT ALCOHOL

College is
an exciting milestone for both you and your student. It is a time of new
experiences, a time of transition, and a time to stay connected. In the Jesuit spirit of “caring for the whole
person,” SJU partners with parents to ensure students will make a positive
transition to college. SJU takes an
active role in education students about wellness issues and aims to empower
parents to take an active role as well. Even
if you have already spoken with your student about alcohol use throughout high
school, it is a good idea to revisit the conversation. You may need to adjust
your communication style as your student develops greater independence.

Whether
you believe it or not, you can have an even bigger influence on your student’s
decision making around alcohol and drugs.
Keep the lines of communication open; your student will be more likely to try to live
up to your expectations if you set clear expectations regarding alcohol.

Studies have
shown that family and peers alike can influence drinking behavior actively, by
explicitly discouraging irresponsible behavior or passively, by role modeling
positive drinking behavior (NIAAA, 1997).

Student
who perceived higher parental monitoring during the summer before college were
significantly less likely to transition to experiencing alcohol-related
consequences (Walls, Fairlie & Wood, 2009)

Students
who perceived their parents were more permissive about drinking during the
students’ senior year of high school were significantly more likely to
transition to weekly alcohol use, heavy episodic drinking and consequences
during college (Walls, Fairlie & Wood, 2009)

Talking to Your Student

Tips When
Talking to Your Student click It's Time To Talk

Remember the 3 R’s

Recognize: Recognize there are social aspects of alcohol that may seem
positive to your student. Networking,
socializing and bonding with friends can be positive aspects of consuming
alcohol in a moderate way. Recognize
that many students find it easier to follow the crowd and the majority of
students do drink at some point in college.
Recognize that telling your student to just say no might not work. Recognize that you got your student this far
in life and be confident in your ability as a parent.

Relate: Relate as best you can and try to remember when you were
18. Remind your student that you do
understand. If comfortable, share
personal stories of positive ways to consume and negative ways to consume. Be clear in your purpose of sharing and
explain that you had to make the same choices once too but be careful to avoid
glamorizing your “glory days of college.”
Instead, invite a discussion about you how want your student to enjoy
college in a constructive way, without the negative effects of high risk
alcohol use. Be a positive role model and if drinking, consume
responsibly.

Responsibility: Responsibility is now in the hands of your student. Discuss the privileges and the consequences
that come with that responsibility. Be
specific about your expectations. Be
honest about what you will do if an alcohol or drug violation occurs and then
follow through. Your student must learn
to make choices on their own and also deal with the consequences on their
own.

Timing is Key

All the Time: Make it a consistent part of dinner
conversation when checking in about their day and their life

In the Car: Since you don’t have to look each other in
the eye and neither of you can run away

After Orientation: Ask them directly what they learned
during the Alcohol and Drug Presentation or ask them what stood out
during the two days on campus

Casual Settings: Bring up this topic while doing
something fun that you both enjoy like shopping, fishing or at a picnic
and make it casual

Join Forces: Utilize the people in your life who also
have a connection to your student: coaches, aunts/uncles, older
siblings/cousins, friends.

Mornings: Once
your student heads to school, feel free to call early on a Friday,
Saturday or Sunday morning. You
will hear it in their voice if they had a late night and it can be a
point of discussion.

First 6 Weeks of School: During this time, first year students
are most at risk for a variety of things including alcohol abuse and
sexual assault. Connect with them
often during this critical time of transition and keep the lines of
communication open.

Information is Critical

Knowledge: Learn what you can about alcohol and other
drug issues and share this knowledge with your student. Be factual and straightforward –
correct misperceptions. Learn the
policies and laws and share these with your student. Avoid scare tactics and share facts.

History: A family history of addiction is an important
issue to discuss with your student.
While the interplay between genetics and environment is not
entirely clear, if there is a family history of any addiction, there is a
higher risk for abusing alcohol.

Mental Health: If your student struggles with mental
health issues, alcohol abuse can worsen or create new symptoms. Be open about this and seek advice from
your doctor.

No Lecture: When talking with your student about
anything, avoid scare tactics and lectures. Be open, supportive and focus the
discussion around their reality.

Discussion Starters

When
starting a discussion about alcohol/drugs, remember to keep it casual. Remember to ask open-ended questions about
alcohol or drugs and avoid questions that can have a yes/no answer. Show respect by listening completely before
responding; this will show your student you are treating them like an
adult. Make positive comments about your
student’s responsible choices. Be direct
– ambiguity can lead to mixed messages. Control
your emotions and speak in a calm, relaxed voice.

Prior to starting college:

You will be faced with the decision to drink in excess at some point. What do you think your reaction will be?

Did you learn anything at Orientation about the drinking culture of SJU?

What are you most nervous about when making new friends at SJU?

You’ll have a lot of decision to make in college and you might even make some mistakes. Just know that you can talk to us about anything – even if you do make a mistake. We won’t freak out. But you will be expected to handle the consequences like an adult.

Once college has begun:

How are you and your roommate getting along – do you have similar styles in what you do for fun?

What is the culture there? Is it heavily focused on alcohol and drugs?

Have you witnessed anyone make a fool of themselves while drinking; what was that like?

Tell me about your new friends. Do any of them dabble in drugs at all? How do you feel about that?

Do you know where to go for help if you or a friend is having issues with alcohol?

If
substances have caused problems in one’s life, it is abuse and if the person
continues to use in the same way regardless of the negative outcomes, the brain
is starting to change and is on the road to addiction.

If you are
concerned for your student and are looking for resources or more information,
feel free to contact us

Signs of Alcohol or other Drug Abuse:

No longer playing sports or participating in activities
that used to bring pleasure

Hanging out with new friends while also dropping old
friends

Decrease in interest and commitment to classes;
declining grades

Irritability or aggressiveness especially when
discussing issues with alcohol/drugs

Difficulty concentrating and sleeping; use of
stimulants to study

Discipline problems

Allowing alcohol to be the center of all social
activities; avoiding activities that do not involve alcohol

Needing to drink in order to feel relaxed/feel better

Blacking out while drinking

Excessive emotional displays

Drinking more than intended, not being able to stick to
a few drinks

Feeling guilty or ashamed of drinking/hiding behaviors
associated with drinking

Neglecting responsibilities in work, home, school or
relationships

Drinking in dangerous situations; drinking and driving,
mixing with other drugs

Getting in trouble with the law or at school with
Community Standards

Addiction:

Addiction
is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by
compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered
a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and
how it works. These brain changes can be long lasting and can lead to harmful,
self-destructive behaviors.

Physical
Dependence and Withdrawal:

Physical
dependence is defined as occurring when the brain adapts to the repeated drug
exposure and only function normally in the presence of the drug. When the drug
is withdrawn, several physiologic reactions occur. These can be mild (e.g., for
caffeine) or even life threatening (e.g., for alcohol). This is known as the
withdrawal syndrome. Addiction may
include physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms but physical dependence or
withdrawal on it’s own are not always indicative of addiction.

Tolerance:

Tolerance
is defined as when the body and the brain need a higher dose of the drug to
achieve the same level of response achieved initially. Addiction may include tolerance but tolerance
on its own is not always indicative of addiction.

Definitions from National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at www.drugabuse.gov

Statistics

The consequences of excessive and
underage drinking affect virtually all college campuses, college communities,
and college students, whether they choose to drink or not. The statistics below are taken from NIAAA,
College Drinking Prevention.

Death:
1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from
alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes (Hingson et al., 2009).

Injury: 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24
are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol (Hingson et al., 2009).

Assault: 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24
are assaulted by another student who has been drinking (Hingson et al., 2009).

Sexual Abuse: 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24
are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape (Hingson et al., 2009).

Unsafe Sex: 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had
unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and
24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having
sex (Hingson et al., 2002).

Health Problems/Suicide
Attempts: More than 150,000 students
develop an alcohol-related health problem (Hingson et al., 2002), and between 1.2 and
1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within
the past year due to drinking or drug use (Presley et al., 1998).

Drunk Driving: 3,360,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 drive
under the influence of alcohol (Hingson et al., 2009).

Vandalism: About 11 percent of college student drinkers report
that they have damaged property while under the influence of alcohol (Wechsler et al., 2002).

Property Damage: More than 25 percent of administrators from schools
with relatively low drinking levels and over 50 percent from schools with
high drinking levels say their campuses have a "moderate" or
"major" problem with alcohol-related property damage (Wechsler et al., 1995).

Police Involvement: About 5 percent of 4-year college students are
involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking
(Wechsler et al., 2002), and 110,000 students between the ages of 18
and 24 are arrested for an alcohol-related violation such as public
drunkenness or driving under the influence (Hingson et al., 2002).

Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: 31 percent of college students met criteria for a
diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol
dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based
self-reports about their drinking (Knight et al., 2002).